Vamp lining with elastic insets



March 25, 1958 F. MACCARONE VAMP LINING WITH ELASTIC INSETS Filed Jan. 17. 1955 IN VEN TOR. I FRED MACCARONE ATTORNEYS United States Patent VAMP LlNlNG WITH ELASTIC INSETS Fred Maccarone, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application January 17, 1955, Serial No. 482,052

2 Claims. (Cl. 36-55) This invention relates to shoemaking and in particular, to a novel vamp lining construction providing a shoe of improved fit and comfort.

Inasmuch as modern shoemaking practice centers predominantly on supplying the market with shoes of standardized sizes intended to fit the feet of the purchasing public regardless of individual peculiarities of foot conformation, foot anatomies deviating from the ideal feet with reference to which shoes are designed frequently cause permanent deformation of shoes. A frequent foot condition causing such deformation is an enlargement or protuberance in the region of the ball of the foot, a region of particular importance to foot comfort. Thus, a shoe which otherwise fits is often too tight in the ball region, whereas a shoe wider in the ball region does not otherwise fit well. Consequently, the purchaser having peculiar feet generally compromises with the expectation that his shoes will eventually be broken in to be at least comfortable, although deformed.

Shoe troubles resulting in deformation of the shoe as Well as discomfort are also caused by the spreading of the foot when weight is applied and by the swelling of the foot when hot and tired. The pressure between the shoe and foot is not only uncomfortable but also stretches the shoe.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a shoe construction making the shoe more adaptable to foot abnormalities while avoiding permanent distortion of the shoe. With shoes constructed in accordance with my invention, the purchaser can better rely on maintenance of original form, and can better be fitted properly to shoes of standard size.

In accomplishing this object, I provide in and as part of the vamp lining of the shoe an elastic inset at each end of the ball line. Each inset is butted against and secured to the edges of a cut-out region in the vamp lining itself, and extends between points forward and rearward of the ball line, along the edges of the insole and upward into the vamp region.

The inset permits the shoe to expand in the ball region to accommodate abnormal foot anatomies, but reduces permanent deformation of the shoe by returning the shoe to its normal shape when the foot is removed. Thus, a snug and comfortable fit is maintained in the shoe notwithstanding its expansion during wear.

This invention and its advantages will be better understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a view in side elevational of a womans shoe with the vamp cut away to show the construction of my invention, and

Fig. 2 is a view in cross-section taken as section 2-2 of Fig. 1.

The invention is shown in the drawings as embodied in a womans pump which in general is of conventional construction, but other types of shoes may also be constructed to embody the invention.

My invention consists in providing in the vamp lining 19 insets 12 of longitudinally stretchable elastic goring, each of which, it will be seen, extends along the edge of the insole 14 from points forward and rearward of the ball line, designated generally at 16, and upward from the insole well into the upper vamp region.

The insets 12 are conveniently jointed with the lining 10 in the fitting room, as by cutting out the lining to conform to the shape of the insets, and butting and stitching the edge of the inset to the edge of the cut out region of the lining. In the illustrated embodiment, the inset is secured to the vamp lining by overhand stitches 18.

The vamp lining 10 with the elastic insets 12 sewn therein is then assembled with the upper 20 and lasted to the insole 14 in the conventional manner, after which the outsole 22 is laid over the insole 14 and overlasted margins 24, and the shoe is otherwise completed in the normal manner.

In the embodiment described, the insets 12 of longitudinally stretchable elastic goring extend not only upward from the edges of the insole 14, but also into the overlasted margins 24 and are thus firmly held in place with minimum danger of the stitches 18 unraveling from their ends which are also secured in the overlasted margins. Since the goring is not laterally elastic, no problem is encountered in side-lasting.

Except for the insets 12, the remainder of the shoe is formed of conventional shoemaking materials, the lining being of, for example, leather or fabric. The insets, being elastic, permit expansion of the shoe in the ball region while providing tension returning the shoe to its normal shape when the foot is removed.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description of my invention has been presented as illustrative thereof, and that obvious modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventio Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail a preferred embodiment thereof, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a shoe having a non-elastic vamp, a non-elastic vamp lining, and an insole; the improvement comprising a pair of elastic insets secured to the margins of a pair of cut-outs in the vamp lining, one cut-out being disposed adjacent each end of the ball line of the shoe, each elastic inset being stretchable lengthwise of the shoe but not laterally thereof.

2. In a shoe having a non-elastic vamp, a non-elastic vamp lining, and an insole; the improvement comprising a pair of elastic insets butted and stitched to the margins of a pair of cut-outs in the vamp lining, one cut-out being disposed adjacent each end of the ball line of the shoe, each elastic inset being stretchable lengthwise of the shoe but not laterally thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 509,241 Packard Nov. 21, 1893 1,531,153 Steil Mar. 24, 1925 1,566,791 Ekins Dec. 22, 1925 1,990,210 Silver Feb. 5, 1935 2,048,294 Roberts July 21, 1936 2,158,153 Roberts et al. May 16, 1939 2,188,168 Winkel Jan. 23, 1940 

